Motor vehicle door hinge



July 7, I959 M FERRELL HOLLANSWORTH 2,893,050

MOTOR VEHICLE DOOR HINGE .Original Filed Oct. 21, 1954 IN VEN TOR.

%LBM @M, WW, 41 0-4 MW United States Patent MOTOR VEHICLE DOOR HINGE McFerrell Hollansworth, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to McKinney Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application October 21, 1954, Serial No. 463,698,

now Patent No. 2,799,042, dated July 16, 1957. Divided and this application May 28, 1957, Serial No. 662,136

2 Claims. (Cl. 16-142) This invention relates to hinges for the doors of automobiles and other motor vehicles, and more particularly to hinges that also serve as door stops and holders. This application is a division of my copending patent application, Serial Number 463,698, filed October 21, 1954, now Patent No. 2,799,042, dated July 16, 1957.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a door hinge of sturdy construction which is easy to make, which can be opened only a predetermined distance, which holds the door by means of friction in open position, which cushions the door as it reaches open position, and which requires materially more force to start the hinge to close than is required for continuing its closing.

In accordance with this invention, a pair of hinge plates have their outer ends connected by a vertical hinge pin supported by one plate and extending through a barrel on the other plate. Between the plates is a leaf spring that has its inner end secured to one of them and has its outer end extending past the barrel and through an opening in the other plate. The outer end of the spring is provided with a stop, and the plate with the opening is provided with abutting means for engaging the stop when the hinge is opened to thereby limit the distance the hinge can be opened. The spring has a portion that must be flexed by the abutting means as the hinge starts to close, whereby the hinge resists initial closing movement and therefore is held open until it is desired to close the door.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a plan view of a hinge; and

Fig. 2 is a central horizontal section through the hinge,

showing it open.

, Referring to the drawings, the outer end of an inner hinge plate 16 is bifurcated and wrapped around the upper and lower portions of a vertical hinge pin 18. Wrapped around the central portion of the pin is the outer end of an outer hinge plate 17. The outer ends of the two plates therefore form a barrel, through which the pin extends. In closed door position the inner plate 16, which supports the door 19, first extends away from the hinge pin at right angles to the adjoining portion of the other plate and then extends parallel to that portion. Riveted to the inner surface of the portion of the outer plate just mentioned is the inner end of a leaf spring 21. The spring extends outward across the hinge barrel and through an enlarged rectangular opening 22 in the outer end portion of the inner plate. This opening is formed between the forks of the outer end of the plate. The spring projects from the opening and curves back part way around the barrel. The outer end of the spring is bent outward to form a laterally projecting stop 23 which, as shown in Fig. 2, will be engaged by the.

"Ice

inner end wall 24 of opening 22 when the hinge is opened the desiredextent. This yielding engagement prevents the door from being opened farther.

While the hinge is in its open position, the spring presses tightly against the inner surface of inner plate 16 to hold the door open. For this purpose the spring is provided near stop 23 with an outwardly bent portion or hump 25 that is compressed slightly as plate 16 swings past it. Before the hinge can be closed, enough pressure must be applied to the inner plate to cause it to compress or force the engaging hump of the spring inwardly towards the hinge barrel. The resistance of the spring to being flexed in this manner is what holds the hinge open and resists its closing. The leaf spring not only forms a resilient stop that limits the distance the door can be opened, but it also tends to hold the door open after it has been swung outward.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A door hinge comprising a pair of hinge plates having parallel portions connected at their outer ends by a barrel and vertical hinge pin, one of the plates being provided adjacent the pin with an opening through it, and a leaf spring between the plates having its inner end secured to the other plate, the outer end portion of the spring extending through said opening and having its end curved away from the pin to form a stop adapted to be engaged by a wall of said opening when the hinge is opened, and the spring having a laterally projecting portion near its outer end pressing against the inner side of said one plate while the hinge is open, said one plate having an area between its spring-engaging point and said wall that is closer than said point to the axis of the pin, and said spring being compressible by said plate area as the hinge starts to close, whereby the hinge resists initial closing movement.

2. A door hinge comprising a pair of binge plates having parallel portions connected at their outer ends by a barrel and vertical hinge pin, one of the plates being provided adjacent the pin with an opening through it, and a leaf spring between the plates having its inner end secured to the other plate, the outer end portion of the spring extending through said opening and having its end curved away from the pin to form a stop adapted to be engaged by a wall of said opening when the hinge is opened, and the spring having a resilient hump near its outer end tightly engaging said barrel and said one plate while the hinge is open, said one plate having an area between its hump-engaging point and said wall that is closer than said point to the axis of the pin, and said hump being compressible by said plate area as the hinge starts to close, whereby the hinge resists initial closing movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

